Successful SUSTAINair kick-off | Circular economy 4 new sustainable flightpaths

SUSTAINair is a new Horizon 2020 R&D project enabling the aviation´s sustainable transition based on circular economy.
© SUSTAINair
The SUSTAINair project, titled ‚SUSTAINablility increase of lightweight, multifunctional and intelligent airframe and engine parts’ is a new 3,5-year Horizon 2020 research and innovation project. It launched in January 2021, and held its virtual kick-off meeting on 26 January 2021.

SUSTAINair brings together eleven project partners from 4 countries led by the AIT Center for Low-Emission Transport, a subsidiary of the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT-LKR). The project operates under a specific Horizon 2020 research and innovation action aiming to foster next-generation multifunctional and intelligent airframe and engine parts, with emphasis on manufacturing, maintenance and recycling (MG-3-5-2020).

The project coordinator, Mr Jürgen Roither (AIT-LKR), facilitated the day-long meeting attended by 36 participants from 11 European research organisations and industrial partners. Mr Hugues Felix, project officer at the Department H2020 unit H2 Transport of European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), gave a presentation on the call’s strategic objectives at the opening session.

SUSTAINair´s approach to sustainable aviation

The project addresses some of the biggest challenges to sustainable aerospace engineering and to the Europe´s Vision for AviationFlightpath 2050.

To tackle the fuel consumption and waste of high-quality, aerospace-grade materials, SUSTAINair applies circular economy principles to the design, manufacturing, operations and end-of-life phases of aircraft. In a post-COVID19 world, SUSTAINair is paving the runway to a more cost-effective, low-carbon economy. The project will research and develop solutions to increase resource efficiency and aircraft performance while cutting down on waste and material costs throughout the aircraft life cycle, what is known as circular aviation. Because of this, the project has been endorsed by the Future Sky research initiative of the Association of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA).

This EU-funded research aims to make the entire aviation supply chain ecosystem greener in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan, setting new aerospace manufacturing standards, and enabling an increase in cross-sector synergies.

The 11 project partners are at the forefront of circular aviation, pursuing objectives set by the EU Green Deal and Flightpath 2050. The partners of the project are:

1. AIT-LKR Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen GmbH (Austria)
2. Netherlands Aerospace Centre – NLR (Netherlands)
3. Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. – DLR (Germany)
4. Joanneum Research (Austria)
5. Johannes Kepler University Linz (Austria)
6. Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
7. AEROCIRCULAR (Belgium)
8. INOCON Technology GmbH (Austria)
9. INVENT GmbH (Germany)
10. Dutch Thermoplastic Components B.V. (Netherlands)
11. RTDS Association (Austria)

SUSTAINair´s website

Welcome to the SUSTAINair project – enabling green transition of the aviation and aerospace sectors: www.sustainair.eu